Obama orders hospitals to grant same-sex couples visitation rights  —  President Obama on Thursday signed a memorandum requiring hospitals to allow gays and lesbians to have non-family visitors and to grant their partners medical power of attorney.  —  The president ordered the Department …

Fox News yanks Sean Hannity from Cincinnati Tea Party rally he was set to star in  —  Angry Fox News executives ordered host Sean Hannity to abandon plans to broadcast his nightly show as part of a Tea Party rally in Cincinnati on Thursday after top executives learned that he was set to headline the event …

Obama ‘amused’ by Tea Party rallies  —  President Barack Obama struck a hyperpartisan note Thursday, telling Democrats that he was “amused” by the Tax Day Tea Party rallies.  —  Obama, addressing a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser in Miami, did little to endear himself …

President Obama and Vice President Biden's Tax Returns  —  Today, the President released his 2009 federal income and gift tax returns.  He and the First Lady filed their income tax return jointly and reported an adjusted gross income of $ 5,505,409.  The vast majority of the family's 2009 income …

Today Is the Best Tax Day of Your Life  —  Looking back, we may all remember April 15, 2010, as the day we got off cheaply.  Why a growing deficit and increased spending on health care and Social Security nearly guarantee higher tax bills in our future.  —  Almost nobody likes tax day …

Gov. Crist vetoes teacher tenure bill  —  TALLAHASSEE — After weeks of protest and a deluge of messages, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday vetoed a bill that would link teacher pay to student test scores and wipe out tenure for new teachers.  —  “I know in my heart it's the right thing to do,” Crist said of his veto.

Dueling Columnists  —  A surprising disagreement has broken out between two Times columnists, with Paul Krugman demanding an apology from Andrew Ross Sorkin and Sorkin so far refusing to back down.  —  The argument is over what approach Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who writes …

Steve King Blows Up, Physically Grabs TP Blogger When Asked About His Justification Of IRS Attack  —  In February, a software engineer named Joseph Stack flew a small aircraft into an IRS building in Texas, killing two people and leaving another two hospitalized.

Lawyer: Laptops took thousands of images  —  The system that Lower Merion school officials used to track lost and stolen laptops wound up secretly capturing thousands of images, including photographs of students in their homes, Web sites they visited, and excerpts of their online chats …

Poll: “Birther” Myth Persists Among Tea Partiers, All Americans  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton,Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  Although the Constitution requires American presidents to be natural born citizens …

Former NSA executive charged with leaking information to newspaper  —  A former senior executive with the National Security Agency has been indicted on 10 felony charges related to the alleged leaking of classified information to a national newspaper in 2006 and 2007, the Justice Department announced Thursday morning.

McConnell lacks support to block Wall Street reform bill  —  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) does not have enough solid commitments from GOP lawmakers to block consideration of a Democratic Wall Street reform bill.  —  McConnell has circulated a letter within the GOP conference …

Socialists weigh in on Obama  —  (CNN) — Billy Wharton should be happy.  —  “Socialized health care” is on its way.  The “socialist agenda” is taking over America.  And best of all, Barack Obama, a “committed socialist ideologue,” is in the Oval Office.

Massive fireball reported across Midwestern sky  —  (CNN) — Authorities in several Midwestern states were flooded Wednesday night with reports of a gigantic fireball lighting up the sky, the National Weather Service said.  —  The fireball was visible for about 15 minutes beginning about 10 p.m. …

Obama Sees Manned Missions to Mars  —  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — President Barack Obama predicted Thursday his new space exploration plans would lead American astronauts to Mars and back in his lifetime, a bold forecast relying on rockets and propulsion still to be imagined and built.

Dobbs-Mania Explodes Over Manhattan  —  TPM's Versha Sharma was minding her own business walking down 8th Avenue when she stumbled upon a Manhattan Tea Party event featuring Lou Dobbs.  —  Versha reports in by iPhone: “Lou dobbs was just introduced as the brave man who left CNN when it got too liberal.

Did Glenn Beck just post a new ratings low for 2010?  —  It sure looks that way, as Beck's ratings continue to sag.  —  Bottom line: Over the last nine months, Beck gained and then lost nearly one million viewers.  Trust me, in the world of cable news, that's not small feat.

C.I.A. Document Details Destruction of Tapes  —  WASHINGTON — Porter J. Goss, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in 2005 approved of the decision by one of his top aides to destroy dozens of videotapes documenting the brutal interrogation of two detainees, according to an internal C.I.A. document released Thursday.

“A Half-Term Former Governor With A TV Show”  —  David Brooks wants everyone to stop talking about her: … I understand why David would rather she go away; but like his dismissal of the power of the Christianist right in American conservatism and culture, this dismissal of Palin misses, I think, several critical things.

BLOGGERS POLL: Immigration Hesitation  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says “we're going to have comprehensive immigration reform now.”  Top political bloggers don't see it.  —  Majorities on both the left and the right in this week's NationalJournal.com Bloggers Poll call comprehensive reform unlikely this year.

The Madison, Wisconsin, Tax Day Tea Party  —  More pictures coming soon.  I'd put them all up right away, but I had to work late and my wife made barbeque pork chops for dinner.  I have my priorities.  —  And anyway, this is the one you're all waiting for.  The crowd shot:

McLaughlin & Associates Poll: National Survey of Jewish Voters  —  Re: National Survey of Jewish Voters  —  Major Findings:  —  I. A plurality of Jewish voters would consider someone else for President.  —  According to the 2008 exit polls, Barack Obama won 78% to 21% among Jewish voters.